TY - JOUR
T1 - File Size Distribution on UNIX Systems - Then and Now
AU - Tanenbaum, A.S.
AU - Herder, J.N.
AU - Bos, H.J.
N1 - filesize_osr2006
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - Knowledge of the file size distribution is needed to optimize file system design. In particular, if all the files are small, the disk block size should be small, too, to avoid wasting too large a fraction of the disk. On the other hand, if files are generally large, choosing a large block size is good since it leads to more efficient transfers. Only by knowing the file size distribution can reasonable choices be made. In 1984, we published the file size distribution for a university computer science department. We have now made the same measurements 20 years later to see how file sizes have changed. In short, the median file size has more than doubled (from 1080 bytes to 2475 bytes), but large files still dominate the storage requirements.
AB - Knowledge of the file size distribution is needed to optimize file system design. In particular, if all the files are small, the disk block size should be small, too, to avoid wasting too large a fraction of the disk. On the other hand, if files are generally large, choosing a large block size is good since it leads to more efficient transfers. Only by knowing the file size distribution can reasonable choices be made. In 1984, we published the file size distribution for a university computer science department. We have now made the same measurements 20 years later to see how file sizes have changed. In short, the median file size has more than doubled (from 1080 bytes to 2475 bytes), but large files still dominate the storage requirements.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/33845189577
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33845189577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1145/1113361.1113364
DO - 10.1145/1113361.1113364
M3 - Article
SN - 0163-5980
VL - 40
SP - 100
EP - 108
JO - ACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review
JF - ACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review
IS - 1
ER -
